Liberal News

Parents Of Children Who Were Killed In Sandy Hook Are Suing Alex Jones Over His Conspiracy Theories Parents Of Children Who Were Killed In Sandy Hook Are Suing Alex Jones Over His Conspiracy Theories View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Parents Of Children Who Were Killed In Sandy Hook Are Suing Alex Jones Over His Conspiracy Theories Parents Of Children Who Were Killed In Sandy Hook Are Suing Alex Jones Over His Conspiracy Theories View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

C&L's Late Nite Music Club With Lowell Fulson I had to rub shoulders with the small town hoity-toity for a bit today. Many times when they weren't looking I rolled my eyes at their plastic sophistication. Most of us are from the sticks. I don't deny I am and they aren't fooling me. What are you listening to tonight? Full Storyread more

The Restaurant Industry Ran A Private Poll On the Minimum Wage. It Did Not Go Well For Them. One of the nation’s most powerful anti-minimum wage lobbying groups tapped a long-time Republican pollster to survey the public about a range of issues impacting the industry. A significant chunk of the survey focused on attitudes toward the minimum wage — and many members of the powerful lobby group aren’t going to like the results. The poll — which was presented on a slidedeck obtained by The Intercept and Documented — found that seven in 10 Americans want…read more

Pompeo Secretly Met with Kim Jong Un CIA Director Mike Pompeo “made a top-secret visit to North Korea over Easter weekend as an envoy for President Trump to meet with that country’s leader, Kim Jong Un,” the Washington Post reports. “The extraordinary meeting between one of Trump’s most trusted emissaries and the authoritarian head of a rogue state was part of an effort to lay the groundwork for direct talks between Trump and Kim about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, according to the two people, who requested anonymity because of the highly classified nature of…read more

What Went Wrong at FiveThirtyEight This piece is only available to Political Wire members. Your support makes this site possible. Join today for exclusive analysis, new features and no advertising. Sign in to your account or join today! Monthly – $5 per month or Annual – $50 per year Full Storyread more

Follow Pope Francis to Somewhere Good A news interlude dominated by speculation about “golden showers” and a graceless president who described his latest detractor as an “untruthful slime ball” invites us to search for higher moral ground. So it might be Providential that Pope Francis chose to make news last week in two ways. First, he did something that comes very hard to most public figures, and particularly to the current occupant of the White House: He apologized fervently for “grave errors.” He also issued a remarkable document on holiness that seemed made for the…read more

#MeToo isn’t changing low salaries or lousy working conditions for cheerleaders Getty Images Is there any other field in which the idea of treating women as second class citizens is as transparent as it is in professional sports and its cheerleaders? It's not just that athletes rake in millions while the cheerleaders who root for them can earn as little as $5 hour. It's also that the women are held to an absurd moral code of conduct, all while being exposed to routine harassment. What a trifecta of nonsense they endure. But now, they're speaking…read more

White House Says Haley Was ‘Confused’ About Sanctions The White House put further daylight between President Trump and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley as chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said she had gotten “ahead of the curve” in announcing new sanctions against Russia, the New York Times reports. Said Kudlow: “She got ahead of the curve. She’s done a great job. She’s a very effective ambassador, but there might have been some momentary confusion about that.” Bloomberg reports that Haley fired back at the criticism: “With all due respect, I don’t get confused.” Full Storyread more

I plead inHannity, your honor In today’s UnPresidented podcast Cliff and I share a collective howl over the revelation that Fox News’ Sean Hannity is Trump-lawyer Michael Cohen’s secret third client; and we also thoroughly enjoyed James Comey’s recent interview with George Stephanopoulos, in which Comey said Trump was unfit for office and possibly compromised by the Russians. Those are today’s two big topics in what has already become a busy news week. Hope you enjoy. This is a 14-minute snippet of the hour-long interview — listen to the full episode here with a $5/month…read more

Blagojevich Appeals for Husband’s Pardon on Fox News Chicago Tribune: “On Monday night, Patti Blagojevich appeared on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ which airs on Fox — said to be Trump’s favorite news source. Carlson started the interview by asking her what ‘her pitch’ would be to the president for pardoning her husband.” Said Blagojevich: “My husband is probably the only person in the entire history of the United States who is serving any kind of sentence for simply asking for campaign contributions.” The disgraced governor was a contestant on Trump’s program “The Celebrity Apprentice” in 2010…read more

Another Playboy Model Claims Affair with Trump Former Playboy Playmate Barbara Moore told the Daily Mail how President Trump “cheated on his pregnant fiancée Marla Maples – who later became his second wife – during a steamy six-month affair.” “Moore met Trump three months after she became Playboy‘s Miss December centerfold – and claims the president was a ‘great lover’ and a true ‘gentleman’. The pair embarked on a passionate love affair which saw Moore spending time with the billionaire at Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower behind Maples’ back.” Full Storyread more

Watch NPR's David Folkenflik's brutal takedown of Fox's handling of Sean Hannity CHUCK TODD (HOST): I feel like by basically saying Sean Hannity is not accountable to any standard whatsoever of journalistic ethics that we would hold others to, does it send the message that those that are professional journalists at Fox News are nothing but cover for Sean Hannity? […] DAVID FOLKENFLIK: You’ve got a thing that where he causes pain time and again and the thing is he does seem to be beyond sanction in some ways for Fox, they have doubled down…read more

A fake CNN site started a viral Barbara Bush death hoax. Radio stations blamed CNN. Sarah Wasko / Media Matters A hoax from a fake CNN website that claimed former first lady Barbara Bush had passed away has gone viral on social media. It was also amplified by numerous radio stations, and some stations blamed CNN for the hoax. On April 15, a spokesperson for the Bush family announced that Barbara Bush was in “failing health” and had “decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care.” On the morning…read more

Is This Guy The Thug Who Threatened Stormy Daniels? This morning Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti released a sketch of the man Daniels says threatened her and her young daughter in 2011 when she was planning to go public with the story about her affair with Donald Trump. Here is the sketch in larger format: And here is a recent photo of Trump's Director of Security, Matthew Calamari, Jr. This is Dir of Security for Trump Org, Mathew Calamari Jr, he looks heavier here then in the sketch but... pic.twitter.com/xpb5mnsWyC — Loepoole (@PooleLoe) April 17,…read more

Andrew Napolitano Hammers Hannity: 'He Can't Have It Both Ways!' Andrew Napolitano took care of chastising Sean Hannity so Fox News could stand by their man, Sean Hannity. On today's Outnumbered Overtime, Napolitano shook his finger at Sean Hannity's failure to ever disclose his attorney-client relationship with Trump fixer Michael Cohen. "I love [Hannity]. I worked with him for 20 years," Napolitano said. "He can't have it both ways. If he was a client, then his confidential communications to Mr. Cohen are privileged. If Mr. Cohen was never his lawyer, then nothing that he said…read more

Attorney-Client Privilege May Be the First Casualty of the Michael Cohen Investigation The extraordinary attempt by Michael Cohen, the president’s longtime fixer and personal attorney, to recoup materials collected during a law enforcement raid last week failed in federal court on Monday. A federal judge ruled that, for the time being, the government would control access to the materials, while forbidding investigators to review any potential evidence. But amid breathless coverage of a hearing that included an appearance by adult film actress Stephanie Clifford and the revelation that one of Donald Trump’s favorite Fox News personalities was on…read more

Israel’s “melting pot” turns 70: This is why I call myself an Arab Jew AP "Meranenet!” grandmother repeated the word, astonished. She tried to keep calm. “What can I say to you, Mishmish. I have no idea.” But because of the way she reacted, it was clear to me that she knew that word well. My grandmother Subhiya was born in Damascus. She is over 80 years old and has lived alone in a suburb of Tel Aviv since the death of my grandfather. They both came to this country in the evening of the…read more

Starbucks Will Close More Than 8,000 Stores To Hold Anti–Racial Bias Training In May Starbucks Will Close More Than 8,000 Stores To Hold Anti–Racial Bias Training In May View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Starbucks Will Close More Than 8,000 Stores To Hold Anti–Racial Bias Training In May Starbucks Will Close More Than 8,000 Stores To Hold Anti–Racial Bias Training In May View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

One Person Died After A Southwest Flight Had To Make A Dramatic Emergency Landing "Something is wrong with our plane!" one passenger captioned a terrifying Facebook video. "It appears we are going down! Emergency landing!!" View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

One Person Died After A Southwest Flight Had To Make A Dramatic Emergency Landing "Something is wrong with our plane!" one passenger captioned a terrifying Facebook video. "It appears we are going down! Emergency landing!!" View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Wave Forming In Pennsylvania A new Muhlenberg/Morning Call poll in Pennsylvania finds Democrats lead Republicans on the generic ballot across the state, 47% to 38%. Other key findings: 55% of Pennsylvania voters disapprove of President Trump’s performance, while 39% think he’s doing a good job. Full Storyread more

Former federal prosecutor: Sean Hannity’s Michael Cohen explanation makes no sense CHUCK TODD (HOST): Frankly I’m now confused by the many statements Sean Hannity has put out about whether Michael Cohen is his attorney or not. And in fact, to me is there anything that Hannity has said publicly that would indicate to a special master, well Hannity’s waved any client privilege because he’s claimed he’s not really his lawyer. MIMI ROCAH: Yea, I mean look, you’re not the only one that’s confused, even as a lawyer I’m a little confused too. He’s said some…read more

Bills to Curtail LGBT Rights Failing in U.S. Legislatures NEW YORK — In a striking shift from recent years, major legislation curtailing LGBT rights has been completely stymied in state capitols around the country this year amid anxiety by Republican leaders over igniting economic backlash if they are depicted as discriminatory. In the thick of this year’s legislative sessions, LGBT activists were tracking about 120 proposed bills that they viewed as threats to their civil rights. Not one of them has been enacted as many sessions now wind down; only two remain under serious consideration.…read more

Trump Welcomes Abe, Gives ‘Blessing’ to Koreas Peace Talks PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump on Tuesday gave his blessing for North and South Korea to discuss ending their decadeslong war and said that without his help, the two countries “wouldn’t be discussing anything.” At Mar-a-Lago with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump confirmed that the two Koreas are negotiating an end to hostilities ahead of a meeting between the North’s Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in next week. The meeting will be the third inter-Korean summit since the Koreas’ 1945 division.…read more

Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke calls himself a geologist, but he has never held a job as one AP/Jacquelyn Martin Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is quite selective with what he feels should be known about him – and what he feels should not be known about him. One thing Zinke never forgets to mention is that he is a self-proclaimed geologist, a title he has used "40 times in public settings, including many under oath before Congress." But, as it turns out, he has never once held a job as a one, according to…read more

Right Wing Bonus Tracks: Welcome To Rainbow Totalitarianism Scott Lively wants to be “the voice for conservative homosexuals.” Theodore Shoebat declares that “the Koran, alongside all other anti-Christian texts, must be banned and outlawed; the books must be burned and never allowed to have influence in society.” Bill Muehlenberg says that “homosexual activists—and their MSM allies—are at bottom heartless bullies and coercive utopians who will NOT allow any dissent and countering points of view. All opposition WILL be stamped out. Welcome to Rainbow Totalitarianism.” Larry Klayman asserts that “the situation we live in today is…read more

On Tax Day, Stephanie Ruhle Fact-Checks Trump's Tax Bill And Finds Promises Broken Well, on the most wonderful day of the year (if you are wealthy) our friend Stephanie Ruhle takes us back in time to review the promises Trump and his GOP friends made about this fabulous new tax plan that got passed. Let's see how their claims match up to reality. 1. Donny swore the middle class was going to be the biggest beneficiary of this plan. NOPE. Most gains for the middle class were small, and go away by 2026. Corporate America,…read more

Pompeo and Haspel Face Confirmation Headwinds Wall Street Journal: “Mike Pompeo, the current CIA director and Mr. Trump’s pick to be the next secretary of state, is in danger of receiving an unfavorable committee recommendation, over concerns that his past hawkish statements complicate his ability to conduct diplomacy. While the full Senate could still vote to confirm him, that would mark the first time in more than 70 years the chamber would have bypassed a committee to do so.” “Gina Haspel, the nominee to lead the CIA and now the agency’s deputy director, is expected…read more

Why Blake Farenthold Resigned So Abrubtly HuffPost: “The House Ethics Committee was about to rule against Farenthold in its investigation into whether he sexually harassed members of his staff, used official money for campaign purposes and lied in previous testimony to the committee.” “The committee gave Farenthold a heads-up about its coming decision… By stepping down, Farenthold was able to avoid whatever punishment the committee would have handed down.” Full Storyread more

Species Threatened as Climate Crisis Pushes Mother Nature 'Out of Synch' Julia Conley, staff writerThe warming of the Earth over the past several decades appears to have left many species struggling to scavenge for food, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Full Storyread more

Bernie Sanders’s Latest Criticism of Israel Signals an Actual Debate Coming in 2020 Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has been increasingly vocal on the need to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people, laid out a vision for United States policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Monday that is far more sympathetic to the rights of Palestinians than the pro-Israel orthodoxy that dominates both major parties. Sanders, speaking at the national conference of the Middle East advocacy group J Street in Washington, D.C., called on the U.S. to adopt a more balanced policy toward Israel-Palestine. He…read more

Is Fox News star Sean Hannity getting legal advice from TV’s “Breaking Bad”? Getty/Saul Loeb/AMC/Frank Ockenfels 3 The hit TV series "Breaking Bad" came to a close in September 2013, but Fox News star Sean Hannity may just make it great again. That's because several Twitter users suggested yesterday that Hannity has been getting legal advice from old episodes of the Emmy Award-winning show. The speculation first began after Michael Cohen, the personal attorney to President Donald Trump who is currently at the center of a federal investigation, failed to protect the identity of a “mystery” client. That client turned out to be none other than…read more

Judge rules Joe Arpaio’s guilty verdict could stay on the books — despite Trump pardon AP/Angie Wang/Susan Walsh Disgraced former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio may still face serious legal jeopardy — despite being one of Donald Trump's first political pardons as president. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled it would appoint a special prosecutor to argue that Arpaio's guilty verdict should remain on the books. Since the Justice Department under Jeff Sessions has refused to defend Arpaio's conviction for contempt of court, the new a special prosecutor will. Arpaio has…read more

In Effort to 'Strengthen' Democracy, New Jersey Enacts Automatic Voter Registration Jessica Corbett, staff writerJoining a promising pro-democracy wave, a signature from Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday added New Jersey to the ranks of 11 other states and the District of Columbia that have now enacted automatic voter registration. Full Storyread more

By Repealing School Discipline Reforms, The Trump Administration Hurts Students of Color Obama-era policies forced schools to deal with racism in their disciplinary practices. Now the Team Trump wants to scrap those measures. Full Storyread more

Sandy Hook families sue Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation Getty/Oli Scarff Alex Jones has spent years attempting to discredit the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which a gunman fatally shot 20 school children and six adult staff members. The Infowars host has repeatedly pushed the false narrative that the parents of the deceased children are “crisis actors.” Now, those real-life parents are suing him. In a pair of lawsuits filed late Monday, the parents of two children killed in the December 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, allege that Jones’ conspiracy theories have resulted in death threats, attorney Mark Bankston tells…read more

Fox News on Hannity’s Cohen conflict: We don’t care If anything good came from Monday’s revelation that Sean Hannity had concealed a massive conflict of interest from Fox News’ viewers, it was that his conduct was so egregious, and his network’s lack of interest in journalistic ethics so obvious, that it may have cleared things up for any mainstream reporter who still considers Fox a real news outlet. As part of Hannity’s campaign against special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Donald Trump, the Fox host last week repeatedly denounced the FBI’s raid of the office…read more

Meghan McCain accuses adult star Stormy Daniels of “publicity stunt” on “The View” ABC/Heidi Gutman After showing up at a federal court hearing for Michael Cohen, the disgraced personal attorney for President Donald Trump who recently found himself the subject of a raid by federal prosecutors at the behest of Robert Mueller, Stormy Daniels unveiled a sketch of the man who she claims threatened her against revealing her alleged affair with Trump back in 2011. While recounting the alleged threat to Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" last month, Daniels claimed that a man walked up to her and said, "Leave Trump alone. Forget the…read more

Frank Gaffney Wonders If Cory Booker Is Afraid of Muslim ‘Enforcers’ On Thursday, Sen. Cory Booker grilled CIA director and secretary of state nominee Mike Pompeo about his alliances with prominent anti-Muslim activists, including the Center for Security Policy’s Frank Gaffney. In an interview with Fox News Radio’s Todd Starnes the next day, Gaffney wondered if Booker had pursued this line of questioning because he was scared of U.S. Muslim groups sending “violent guys as sorts of enforcers against him. “Why is it that Democrats like Cory Booker are turning a blind eye to this,…read more

Trump Says Kim Summit Could Happen ‘Soon’ or Never President Trump “set wildly opposite expectations in one sentence for his possible summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, including that it could never happen,” Roll Call reports. He first said his one-on-one meeting with Kim could happen “very soon,” before saying he expects negotiations will allow an “early June” summit to take place. But the president then moved up the possible date to “before that” before backpedaling. Said Trump: “It’s possible things won’t go well and we won’t have the meetings and we’ll just…read more

Pro-Trump media attack judge in Michael Cohen case after Sean Hannity is revealed as his client Agenda-driven right-wing figures and online media outlets are using their platforms to try to discredit Judge Kimba Wood, a federal judge overseeing the case of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, currently under scrutiny for possible bank fraud and wire fraud. Right-wing media started targeting Wood after she ordered Cohen to disclose the name of his anonymous legal client on the basis that there was no legal ground to withhold it; the client turned out to be Fox…read more

Trump Campaign Pays Legal Fees for Ex-Bodyguard President Trump’s campaign “paid more than $66,000 to the law firm that represents Keith Schiller, his former longtime bodyguard,” NBC News reports. “Schiller, who left a White House job in September, testified to the House Intelligence Committee in November that someone made an offer to send five women to Trump’s hotel room in Moscow in the lead-up to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant…. Schiller painted the incident in a light favorable to Trump, saying he turned down the offer on Trump’s behalf, treated it as a joke and…read more

Fox News Stands by Hannity Fox News Channel says its management was unaware until it came out in court that host Sean Hannity shared a lawyer with President Trump, but that Hannity “continues to have our full support,” the AP reports. Full Storyread more

Trump Told to Stay Out of Speaker’s Race President Trump wanted to endorse House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to succeed outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan but is being advised not to back a candidate in the race, ABC News reports. “A source close to the White House said Trump’s advisors are concerned that the endorsement could complicate the contest, and Trump’s future relationship with the next GOP leader should his preferred candidate lose or decide not to run.” Full Storyread more

Bernie Sanders Encourages Progressive Candidates At Training Conference Bernie Sanders was the keynote speaker last week at a four day conference for the training of progressive candidates. ABC News reported: Sanders’ legacy political organization, Our Revolution, partnered with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) to host the conference and the organizers were excited by the number of signups. According to event representatives, 70 percent of the conference attendees were actively running in 2018 — 64 percent of them in districts President Donald Trump won in 2016. The group was noticeably diverse too: 55 percent women, 40…read more

CNS Reporter Uncritically Repeats White House Misinformation With very rare exceptions, CNSNews.com reporter Melanie Arter is content to serve as an uncritical stenographer for White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other Trump White House media representatives. That means Arter is on occasion reporting false or misleading information -- and, thus, misleading her readers.For instance, a March 1 article features a prime bit of regurgitation from Arter:In an effort to illustrate the “historic obstruction of Senate Democrats,” the White House pointed to acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, who is awaiting confirmation…read more

Sandy Hook families are suing Alex Jones. This is what he said about the shooting. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is being sued for defamation by the parents of two children who were killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, that left 20 students and six educators dead. Over the past five-and-a-half years, Jones has repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories about the tragedy, including casting doubt about whether it even happened or claiming that the shooting was staged by nefarious groups using actors. Jones has said the shooting has “inside job written…read more

Trump Loses SCOTUS Immigration Case Because Of Gorsuch Three things about Trump: 1. It's not about principle, it's about loyalty to Trump 2. Trump is against immigration and immigrants, period, to soothe his racist base. 3. Trump can't fire a Supreme Court justice. So when Trump's appointee, Neil Gorsuch, voted against the Trump argument that undocumented immigrants who "commit crimes of violence" should be immediately deported? Hard to say who was more upset, Ann Coulter or the MAGA types on Twitter. And the thing is, Gorsuch's vote was entirely predictable, given his philosophy matches that…read more

The Future of Mexican Climate Diplomacy Mexican views of the United States have deteriorated along with Mexican views of the current U.S. administration. Approximately two-thirds of Mexicans hold an unfavorable view of the United States—with 93 percent lacking confidence in the U.S. president’s judgment on foreign affairs—according to recent polling. This is in striking contrast to the generally pro-American views that Mexicans have held over the past decades. Meanwhile, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)—a left-wing populist who has vocally opposed the current U.S. administration and its plans for a border wall—has a significant lead in…read more

The Future of Mexican Climate Diplomacy Mexican views of the United States have deteriorated along with Mexican views of the current U.S. administration. Approximately two-thirds of Mexicans hold an unfavorable view of the United States—with 93 percent lacking confidence in the U.S. president’s judgment on foreign affairs—according to recent polling. This is in striking contrast to the generally pro-American views that Mexicans have held over the past decades. Meanwhile, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)—a left-wing populist who has vocally opposed the current U.S. administration and its plans for a border wall—has a significant lead in…read more

The right-wing media figures defending Sean Hannity’s relationship with Michael Cohen Hannity is named as client of Cohen Cohen’s lawyer reveals Hannity as one of Cohen’s three clients. On April 16, Fox’s Sean Hannity “was named as a client of Mr. Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen.” According to The New York Times, Judge Kimba M. Wood, “a judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, ordered that Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, disclose the name of the client in question — who turned out to…read more

STEM Students Are Asking More of the #MeToo Movement Emmalina Glinskis On April 14’s March for Science, students will not only be chanting about the integrity of evidence-driven science, but also about the ground-up changes needed to make their community inclusive. The post STEM Students Are Asking More of the #MeToo Movement appeared first on The Nation. Full Storyread more

Bringing Indonesia’s Democratic Transition to the Workplace Michelle Chen An unprecedented coalition of food service unions is sending ripples across the global economy. The post Bringing Indonesia’s Democratic Transition to the Workplace appeared first on The Nation. Full Storyread more

Can a Feminist Revolution Save Women’s Soccer in South America? Dave Zirin Brenda Elsey explains how women are saving their soccer federations from near-oblivion. The post Can a Feminist Revolution Save Women’s Soccer in South America? appeared first on The Nation. Full Storyread more

Ryan Denies Retiring Because of Trump Speaker Paul Ryan told CNBC that it’s “fake news” that he’s not running for re-election because he doesn’t want to deal with President Trump anymore. Full Storyread more

Hannity’s disclosure hypocrisy Media Matters Sean Hannity is the perfectly crystallized representation of Trump-era punditry. Much like the president he slavishly devotes his entire programming schedule to deifying, Hannity is aggressively dishonest, unencumbered by anything remotely resembling a principle, and eager to rigorously impose harsh standards of conduct on his enemies that he would never dream of applying to his allies or himself. And, as with Trump, Hannity thrives despite his toxic, corrupt behavior because he operates within the poisonous world of conservative politics where the myopic pursuit of power and wealth are the only…read more

Are Hugh Hewitt's Claims About Sean Hannity And Michael Cohen The Most Moronic? While Fox News tries to downplay the Sean Hannity/Michael Cohen relationship by barely mentioning it during their broadcasts, MSNBC and CNN are asking many pertinent questions, especially when it comes to transparency. Unfortunately, MSNBC employs Hugh Hewitt, who came up with the most ludicrous and disingenuous explanation to date as to why Trump's fixer, Michael Cohen, was forced to tell the courts he's Hannity's lawyer. The same day, Sean denied it entirely.. Hewitt opined that maybe Hannity didn't know he was a…read more

For Tax Day, Fight to Repeal Trump’s Giveaway to the Wealthy NationAction You can also demand Congress vote on Trump’s illegal air strikes on Syria and find out how to support undocumented students. The post For Tax Day, Fight to Repeal Trump’s Giveaway to the Wealthy appeared first on The Nation. Full Storyread more

Trump’s Attack on Syria Shows US Still Considers Itself Global Policeman Katrina vanden Heuvel Whatever the stated rationale for the airstrikes, the bottom line is that they are a violation of international law and of our own Constitution. The post Trump’s Attack on Syria Shows US Still Considers Itself Global Policeman appeared first on The Nation. Full Storyread more

People Are Sharing Dramatic Photos Of A Southwest Flight That Had To Make An Emergency Landing People Are Sharing Dramatic Photos Of A Southwest Flight That Had To Make An Emergency Landing View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Khloe Kardashian Can’t Seem To Catch A Break She’s the one even non–Kardashian fans still kind of root for because, unlike her sisters, she actually seems to need our support. View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Taking Aim at Corporate Impunity, Sanders' Bill Would Send Big Pharma Execs Behind Opioid Crisis to Jail Julia Conley, staff writerWhile President Donald Trump attempts to place blame for the enduring opioid addiction crisis on immigrants, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Tuesday that he would introduce legislation to take aim at pharmaceutical companies and executives. Full Storyread more

April Is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Here’s How the Trump Hotel Marked the Occasion. At least 20 women have accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, but the national media, chasing scandal after scandal from the White House, has largely moved on from the story. At a gathering outside the Trump International Hotel last night in Washington, D.C., a small crowd of activists organized by the progressive social network Care2 aimed to resurrect the conversation. “There’s a Rapist in the White House.” “Trump is a Serial Sexual Assaulter.” “Groper-in-Chief.” “Impeach Trump.” These messages, projected with the…read more

BREAKING: Imagine all the information! TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018Kevin Drum passes it on: Kevin Drum, our favorite fraught blogger, has passed some information along.The information in question concerns public schools. More specifically, Drum follows up on yesterday's post, right here at this site, about Naep reading scores.Drum notes the fact that these scores have improved in the past twenty years. He provides data for all U.S. schools, public as well as private. We don't care that much about Hotchkiss and Choate, so the data we posted covered public schools only.That said, Drum notes the gains…read more

Lance Wallnau: If Democrats Win In Midterms, ‘It’s Going To Inaugurate An Hour Of Darkness’ Over America Right-wing preacher Lance Wallnau participated in another Truth & Liberty Coalition livestream event last night, where he warned that if Democrats gain control of Congress in the midterm elections, it will “inaugurate an hour of darkness” in America. Wallnau said that he is working to help conservative Christian voters connect locally so that they can “pray together and begin to exercise spiritual authority for God to show up” in their local elections. “This president, if he is in…read more

Sanders' Bill Takes Aim at Big Pharma, Threatens Executives Who Lied About Dangers of Opioids with Jail Time Julia Conley, staff writerWhile President Donald Trump attempts to place blame for the enduring opioid addiction crisis on immigrants, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Tuesday that he would introduce legislation to take aim at pharmaceutical companies and executives. Full Storyread more

Sandy Hook Families Suing Alex Jones For Defamation It is time, America, for the Era of 'Conspiracy Theories For Profit' to END. Daily Beast: The parents of two children who died in the Sandy Hook massacre have filed defamation lawsuits against Infowars founder Alex Jones over his false claims that the 2012 school shooting was was staged. Lawyers for the parents say Jones’ conspiracy theories—including the false assertion that the parents of dead children are “crisis actors”—have led to death threats against them. Neil Heslin, the father of a 6-year-old boy killed in the shooting,…read more

U.S. Will Pay the Price for Ignorance in Trade War With China In the early 1980s, a delegation of Chinese businessmen invited me to Shenzhen, a former fishing village growing into a booming metropolis constructed with what looked to be gigantic Lego pieces. Since then, the many ports along its coastline have become home to some 39 shipping companies responsible for launching 131 international container routes. Politicians may make promises to protect national boarders, but global markets will continue to shape the world. So it might be wise to remind ourselves just who is holding…read more

The Democratic ‘Civil War’ Is More Civil Than War Francis Wilkinson: “Some civil war talk is likely a product of bothsidesism — the desire of pundits and reporters to find symmetry in increasingly asymmetrical political parties. Republicans have accommodated themselves to chaos and corruption so surely the Democrats must be ready to combust, too.” “Except that the Democratic Party is not much like the Republican Party. As Lara Putnam and Theda Skocpol wrote in a much-discussed article about surging grassroots Democratic action in suburbs and small cities, sightings of a Democratic Tea Party, let alone…read more

As Trump Declares 'Americans Are Winning' on Tax Day, Common Good Faces 'Grim Future' Thanks to GOP Jake Johnson, staff writerWhile President Donald Trump used Tax Day as an opportunity to declare that ordinary Americans are now "winning" thanks to his widely hated tax law, a new report published Tuesday refuted Trump's rosy depiction of the American economy under his leadership and found that—thanks the Trump-GOP tax cuts for corporations and the rich—healthcare, education, and other necessary public services face a "grim future." Full Storyread more

Tax Day 2018: A Bonanza for Corporations and the Military The Trump tax plan will likely lead to a corporate income tax cut of $135 billion in 2018 alone. (Photo by Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images) Individual taxpayers are contributing five times more money than corporations to the federal government via the 2017 taxes that are due today. A significant portion of this money is going directly to military contractors who pay their CEOs millions of dollars. A 10 percent cut in spending on military contractors would fund 395,000 school teachers…read more

What does Dan Scavino do all day? Sarah Wasko / Media Matters In a profile of White House social media director Dan Scavino published in The New York Times Magazine, writer Robert Draper seems puzzled at Scavino's role in the Trump campaign and administration. Throughout the piece, Draper attempts to answer the question: What does this guy do all day? From the article: Scavino was another of the “originals” on Trump’s 2016 campaign, and I saw him numerous times on the trail, but I could never quite ascertain what he was doing to further his…read more

Wisconsin Attorney General: Voter ID Gave Trump Win In State Wisconsin Attorney General was on the air with a right wing squawker, bragging about the damaging effects of the state's draconian Voter ID law: Election officials and Democrats in Wisconsin have repeatedly argued that the state’s strict voter ID law allowed Donald Trump to win the state in 2016 by keeping thousands of voters—predominantly in Democratic-leaning areas—from the polls. Now a top Republican official in the state is saying the same thing. “We battled to get voter ID on the ballot for the November ’16…read more

Wisconsin Attorney General: Voter ID Gave Trump Win In State Wisconsin Attorney General was on the air with a right wing squawker, bragging about the damaging effects of the state's draconian Voter ID law: Election officials and Democrats in Wisconsin have repeatedly argued that the state’s strict voter ID law allowed Donald Trump to win the state in 2016 by keeping thousands of voters—predominantly in Democratic-leaning areas—from the polls. Now a top Republican official in the state is saying the same thing. “We battled to get voter ID on the ballot for the November ’16…read more

Larry Kudlow Attacks CBO To Defend Massive Tax Cuts Is it the job of every Trump administration official to lie with impunity? Does Kellyanne Conway hold a special "How to Lie" seminar to prepare them? Larry Kudlow, new "economic advisor" to the Trump "administration", joined the three-headed propaganda team at Fox &Friends this morning and said you can "never believe the Congressional Budget Office", even though he has used them over the years to justify his opinions. Kudlow came on to promote Donald's massive tax cuts for the wealthy, which the CBO calculated would add…read more

The GOP Tax Cuts Are Such a Blatant Scam That They Might Change the Whole Conversation Joshua Holland Are Democrats finally learning to refuse to play the “pay-for” game? The post The GOP Tax Cuts Are Such a Blatant Scam That They Might Change the Whole Conversation appeared first on The Nation. Full Storyread more

Charlie Dent’s rush resignation throws Pennsylvania’s GOP into chaos Getty/Salon With Dent gone, the race will be on to see who replaces him for the few months before the regular election in Nov. The announcement that Rep. Charlie Dent, R-PA., is going to retire in May has thrown Pennsylvania politics into chaos. The reason for this chaos can be best summed up in the statement released by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf shortly after Dent's announcement. After praising the Republican congressman for being "approachable" and for having "always put his constituents above partisan politics," Wolf foreshadowed…read more

Turning Point USA: Well-Funded Conservative Organization Attacks, Inflames and Provokes Liberals On Campuses Across the Country Turning Point USA: Well-Funded Conservative Organization Attacks, Inflames and Provokes Liberals On Campuses Across the Country-- Bill Berkowitz for BuzzFlash at Truthout 4.0/5 rating (2 votes) Full Storyread more

Here's The Sketch Of The Man Who Stormy Daniels Said Threatened Her To Keep Quiet About Her Relationship With Trump Here's The Sketch Of The Man Who Stormy Daniels Said Threatened Her To Keep Quiet About Her Relationship With Trump View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Here's The Sketch Of The Man Who Stormy Daniels Said Threatened Her To Keep Quiet About Her Relationship With Trump Here's The Sketch Of The Man Who Stormy Daniels Said Threatened Her To Keep Quiet About Her Relationship With Trump View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Hawley Says Greitens Likely Committed Felony Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) announce that his office has uncovered potential criminal wrongdoing by Gov. Eric Greitens (R) and he has turned that evidence over to the St. Louis prosecutor, the Kansas City Star reports. Hawley said that during the course of an investigation into a charity founded by Greitens, his office “uncovered evidence of wrongdoing that goes beyond Missouri’s charity laws” and indicates “potentially criminal acts were committed by Gov. Eric Greitens.” Full Storyread more

Class Dismissed: Class Conflict in Red State America Kentucky Public school teachers protest outside the Kentucky House Chamber as they rally for a day of action at the Kentucky State Capitol to try to pressure legislators to override Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's recent veto of the state's tax and budget bills, April 13, 2018, in Frankfort, Kentucky. The teachers also oppose a controversial pension reform bill which Gov. Bevin signed into law. (Photo by Bill Pugliano / Getty Images) In times of great injustice, independent media is crucial to fighting back against misinformation. Support grassroots…read more

Bloody Violence in South Carolina Prison Shines Light on Inhumane Conditions Across US At least seven prisoners died and 17 were seriously injured after bloody violence broke out Sunday night at a maximum security prison in South Carolina. It was the deadliest prison riot in the United States in 25 years. A coroner said all of the prisoners were stabbed, slashed or beaten. Six of the seven were African-American. No guards were hurt. In total, at least 20 prisoners have been killed by fellow prisoners in South Carolina since the start of 2017. One investigation…read more

Trump's Legal Worries Grow as Judge Rejects Effort for President to Review Documents Seized in FBI Raid In a potentially major setback for President Trump, a federal judge has rejected efforts from the president to be given first access to documents seized by the FBI last week during raids on the properties of Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen, who is being investigated for possible bank and wire fraud. Monday's court hearing pitted the president against his own Justice Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay urged the judge to reject the president's request. McKay said, "Just because…read more

Fox News anchor uses the politics of Comey's wife and children to impugn Comey's credibility BILL HEMMER (ANCHOR): ​Marie, isn't it relevant ​that ​​[Comey's] wife voted for Hillary Clinton​, she's ​on camera saying that​,​ and three or four​ of his​ daughters marched in the ​m​arch in Washington the day after the inauguration? Do we not think that is significant to understanding the entire context from which he is coming? ​MARIE HARF (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): ​Look, public servants are allowed to vote and​ their​ families allowed to vote​, and they're allowed​ ​to donate money. ​So --​ ​HEMMER:…read more

Supreme Court Strikes Down Portion of Immigration Law WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court said Tuesday that part of a federal law that makes it easier to deport immigrants who have been convicted of crimes is too vague to be enforced. The court’s 5-4 decision — an unusual alignment in which new Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the four liberal justices — concerns a catchall provision of immigration law that defines what makes a crime violent. Conviction for a crime of violence makes deportation “a virtual certainty” for an immigrant, no matter how long he has lived in the…read more

Goldman Sachs Reports Surge in Profits NEW YORK—Investment bank Goldman Sachs said Tuesday that its first quarter profits rose by 26 percent, helped by a lower tax bill and a surge in market volatility. The Wall Street bank earned $2.83 billion, or $6.95 a share, compared with $2.26 billion, or $5.15 a share, in the same period a year earlier. The results topped analysts’ forecasts, who were looking for Goldman to earn $5.58 a share, according to FactSet. Revenue increased across all of its businesses, but most notably in trading, which saw revenue rise 31…read more

Health Officials Give Marijuana-based Drug Positive Review WASHINGTON—A closely watched medicine made from the marijuana plant reduces seizures in children with severe forms of epilepsy and warrants approval in the United States, health officials said Tuesday. British drugmaker GW Pharmaceuticals is seeking permission to sell its purified form of an ingredient found in cannabis — one that doesn’t get users high — as a medication for rare, hard-to-treat seizures in children. If successful, the company’s liquid formula would be the first government-approved drug derived from the cannabis plant in the U.S. The Food and Drug…read more

Espy and Hyde-Smith Running Even In Mississippi A new Triumph Campaigns poll in Mississippi finds Mike Espy (D) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) neck and neck in the special election to replace Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), 33% to 33%. They are followed by Chris McDaniel (R) at 13% and Jason Shelton (D) at 6%. The special election will not have party primaries and is likely to go to a runoff. In head-to-head matchups, Hyde-Smith leads Espy, 42% to 36%, while Espy leads McDaniel, 43% to 24%. Full Storyread more

Espy and Hyde-Smith Running Even In Mississippi A new Triumph Campaigns poll in Mississippi finds Mike Espy (D) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) neck and neck in the special election to replace Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), 33% to 33%. They are followed by Chris McDaniel (R) at 13% and Jason Shelton (D) at 6%. The special election will not have party primaries and is likely to go to a runoff. In head-to-head matchups, Hyde-Smith leads Espy, 42% to 36%, while Espy leads McDaniel, 43% to 24%. Full Storyread more

Pruitt Upgraded to SUV with Bullet-Proof Seat Covers EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “upgraded his official car last year to a costlier, larger vehicle with bullet-resistant covers over bucket seats,” the Washington Post reports. “One former EPA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said that Pruitt remarked that he wanted the larger car because it was similar to ones in which some other Cabinet officials rode.” Full Storyread more

Revisiting Sam Brownback’s tax cut disaster: How does Kansas feel about his “experiment”? AP/Charlie Riedel "It's like shooting adrenaline into the heart of growing the economy." That's how Sam Brownback, then governor of Kansas, described his radical tax cut plan in 2012. He was evangelical about it. Slashing corporate and personal income tax rates and completely eliminating taxes on limited liability companies, he promised, would create tens of thousands of jobs and bring prosperity to the state. It did not work out that way. At first, there were many believers, including the Kansas State Legislature,…read more

Revisiting Sam Brownback’s tax cut disaster: How does Kansas feel about his “experiment”? AP/Charlie Riedel "It's like shooting adrenaline into the heart of growing the economy." That's how Sam Brownback, then governor of Kansas, described his radical tax cut plan in 2012. He was evangelical about it. Slashing corporate and personal income tax rates and completely eliminating taxes on limited liability companies, he promised, would create tens of thousands of jobs and bring prosperity to the state. It did not work out that way. At first, there were many believers, including the Kansas State Legislature,…read more

“Who did Sean Hannity have sex with?”: Late-night hosts have a blast at Fox News host’s expense AP/Richard Shotwell/Getty/Saul Loeb After it was revealed in court on Monday afternoon that Fox News primetime anchor Sean Hannity was the third previously undisclosed client of New York attorney Michael Cohen, late-night hosts reveled in schadenfreude. "Pro tip for the president," Stephen Colbert advised. "When your lawyer needs a lawyer — you need a lawyer." Calling Cohen a "New York attorney and sad neck with hair," Colbert said that "Donald Trump flattened out by a rolling pin, Elliott Broidy." It was revealed last…read more

WND Still Trying To Link Trump To Third Temple (And The End Times) WorldNetDaily has been leaning hard into linking Donald Trump to being key to building the Third Temple in Jeruasalem (and, you know, kick-start the End Times, but WND's pretending that's not actually an issue).The latest attempt is an anonymously written April 1 WND article:Donald Trump might not be the most popular person inside the beltway, in California, on U.S. college campuses or in the American media, but his support is growing in Israel, with one prominent rabbi saying he believes the president…read more

5 Security Tools You Need to Protect Your Home It's easy to focus on your home's physical security — good locks, an alarm system— but you should also pay attention to whether or not your home is digitally secure as well, especially if you own Internet of Things devices. Here are five tools that can make your quest for peace of mind much, much easier:1. Zmodo Pivot 1080p Wireless All-in-One Security Camera SystemSetting up a security camera doesn't have to be a pain. The Zmodo Pivot 1080p is one of the best cameras on the…read more

5 Security Tools You Need to Protect Your Home It's easy to focus on your home's physical security — good locks, an alarm system— but you should also pay attention to whether or not your home is digitally secure as well, especially if you own Internet of Things devices. Here are five tools that can make your quest for peace of mind much, much easier:1. Zmodo Pivot 1080p Wireless All-in-One Security Camera SystemSetting up a security camera doesn't have to be a pain. The Zmodo Pivot 1080p is one of the best cameras on the…read more

Private Prison Company Made Detainees Work For Toilet Paper, Lawsuit Alleges Photo Illustration by The Daily BeastA private prison company forced immigrant detainees to work for as little as $1 per day if they wanted toilet paper, toothpaste, and safe lodging, according to a new lawsuit filed on Tuesday. The class action suit, filed in federal court for the Middle District of Georgia, pits three plaintiffs––Wilhen Hill Barrientos, Margarito Velazquez Galicia, and Shoahib Ahmed––against CoreCivic, the nation’s largest private prison company. Barrientos and Velazquez Galicia are both currently detained in the Stewart Detention Center in…read more

War Profiteer Erik Prince Reportedly in Talks to Help Forge Occupying Force in Syria Julia Conley, staff writerBlackwater founder Erik Prince, whose former private security firm won hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts to work with U.S. forces in Iraq, has been approached about building an Arab military to replace the U.S. presence in Syria, according to the Wall Street Journal. Full Storyread more

There are no rules for Sean Hannity at Fox News “It seems that there’s no limit at all into the fishing expedition that [special counsel Robert] Mueller is now engaged in,” Sean Hannity claimed last Monday, after FBI investigators raided the home, office, and hotel room of Michael D. Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer. “And if he has access to everything that his personal attorney has, I can only imagine where that’s going to lead.” Seven days later, it led to Hannity himself, as an attorney for Cohen revealed that the Fox News…read more

Alex Jones Has Been Named In Two More Defamation Suits Two lawsuits were filed against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars network last night on behalf of the parents of children murdered in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012, who Jones claimed were “crisis actors”—a claim he maintains to this day. The suits filed against Jones last night seek more than $1 million in damages from Jones for proliferating the objectively false claims that the parents of children murdered at Sandy Hook were actors and that no children actually died on the…read more

He Reported on Russia’s Secret Mercenary Army. Then He Plunged to His Death. FacebookMOSCOW—Maksim Borodin, a handsome and hard-working 32-year-old journalist, plunged from the balcony of his 5th floor apartment on Thursday. Three days later, on Sunday morning, Borodin died at the hospital of Yekaterinburg, his home town in the Ural mountains. Maxim lived by himself, without parents, siblings, or a partner, and his friends and colleagues struggled to understand his tragic death. Was he killed by loneliness, or—in this country where so many journalists have been murdered—by someone who hated his reporting?Borodin’s colleagues at…read more

George Michael’s Boyfriend: ‘I’ll Sell Star’s Possessions to Survive’ Sean Gallup/GettyGeorge Michael’s final partner has left fans of the late singer perturbed and angry after he posted a string of tweets in which he said he was prepared to sell any of Michael’s former possessions, and speak to the press for money, as he struggles to survive financially after his long-term lover’s death.In the emotional series of tweets, 44-year-old hairdresser Fadi Fawaz, who was Michael’s boyfriend for the last seven years of his life and the person who discovered his body on Christmas Day 2016,…read more

Gorsuch Votes Against Deporting Immigrant Justice Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s selection last year for the Supreme Court, cast the deciding vote in a decision released Tuesday that sided with an immigrant fighting his deportation, The Hill reports. “Gorsuch ruled with the court’s four liberal justices in favor of the immigrant, James Garcia Dimaya, who argued that his convictions on two burglary charges did not represent a violent crime.” Full Storyread more

Government Accountability Office: Scott Pruitt Illegally Built "Privacy Booth" Where do you turn for news and analysis you can rely on? If the answer is Truthout, then please support our mission by making a tax-deductible donation! The head of the Environmental Protection Agency violated the law when installing a soundproof booth in his office, according to the top federal auditor. Scott Pruitt ran afoul of a 2017 appropriations law and the Antideficiencies Act when creating the fixture, the Government Accountability Office said on Monday in a legal opinion. According to the analysis, agency officials must notify Congress…read more

Republican figures and clickbait websites have been promoting an anti-Islam fake news company on Facebook Sarah Wasko / Media Matters A Media Matters study found that Facebook pages of some mainstream conservative media outlets, Republican media figures, and even apolitical clickbait sites are part of promotional campaigns involving websites with a history of promoting anti-Islam fake news and conspiracy theories. Liftable Media owns three sites that have pushed anti-Islam pieces: Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal, both right-wing propaganda sites, and it’s inspiration content site Liftable.com. Media Matters tracked links from Facebook to one of…read more

Another One Bites The Dust: Charlie Dent (R-PA) To Resign From Congress By my very rough count, this makes 41 House Republicans who won't be back on purpose in 2019. After discussions with my family & careful reflection, I have decided to leave Congress in the coming weeks. Serving the people of #PA15 has been a tremendous responsibility & the privilege of a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/p8mik6s8ix — Rep. Charlie Dent (@RepCharlieDent) April 17, 2018 Several analysts on Twitter noting this is likely a paycheck decision rather than a political one. Dent was "retiring" this year anyway,…read more

Liz Crokin: The Shooting At Comet Ping Pong Was A Deep State ‘False Flag’ In late 2016, a man walked into a Washington pizza restaurant carrying a loaded assault rifle and a handgun and fired off several shots after being convinced by the right-wing conspiracy theory known as “Pizzagate” that the restaurant, Comet Ping Pong, was a front for a massive pedophile ring operated by high-ranking Democratic politicians. Last night, ardent Pizzagate promoter and radical right-wing conspiracy theorist Liz Crokin appeared on “The Pete Santilli Show,” where she asserted that this incident was nothing more than a deep-state…read more

Dent Will Resign from Congress Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) said he has decided to retire from Congress “in the coming weeks,” NBC News reports. Dent had previously announced that he would not seek re-election this year. Full Storyread more

Even Alan Dershowitz Has A Line He Won't Cross For Hannity We all know Sean Hannity defended Michael Cohen with the ferocity of a mama bear on his show. And now we know why. This is so... unusual, even Alan Dershowitz (a usually reliable sycophant) felt it necessary to chide him. “First of all, Sean, I want to say that I really think that you should have disclosed your relationship with Cohen when you talked about him on this show,” the attorney said. “You could have said that you had asked him for advice or…read more

Politicized by Trump, Teachers Threaten to Shake Up Red-State Politics The teachers strikes that have roiled red states across the country burst onto the national scene seemingly out of nowhere. But a closer look at the people who make up this movement reveals the distinct Trump-era nature of the uprising. In the four states where teachers movements have erupted over the past few months — Arizona, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma — educators and community members are encountering broadly similar circumstances. In all four states, residents are reacting to years of Republican-controlled legislatures, a decline in state…read more

Nikki Haley just got Trumped on Russia sanctions AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta/Cliff Owen President Donald Trump is undermining his own United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, over the issue of additional sanctions against Russia. The president has decided that he doesn't want to add further economic sanctions to Russia in response to its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad engaging in a chemical weapons attack against his own people, according to The Washington Post. After Haley proclaimed on Sunday that new sanctions were being prepared and would be announced by Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Trump complained to…read more

Long Waits and Limited Providers: Mental Health Care While on Medicaid in Appalachia Long Waits and Limited Providers: Mental Health Care While on Medicaid in Appalachia 5.0/5 rating 1 vote Full Storyread more

Long Waits and Limited Providers: Mental Health Care While on Medicaid in Appalachia Long Waits and Limited Providers: Mental Health Care While on Medicaid in Appalachia 5.0/5 rating 1 vote Full Storyread more

Hip-Hop Artist Kendrick Lamar Makes History by Winning Pulitzer Prize On Monday, rapper Kendrick Lamar became the first non-classical or jazz musician to ever win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. Lamar has topped the charts with music that tackles issues of race, politics, religion and even mental health. The Pulitzer follows the five Grammy Awards won by Lamar in January for ”DAMN.,” his fourth studio album. His previous album, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” also won five Grammys. Lamar recently produced and curated the soundtrack for the “Black Panther” film to critical acclaim. We speak to…read more

Deadliest U.S. Prison Riot in 25 Years Shines Light on Inhumane Conditions in Prisons Across Nation At least seven prisoners died and 17 were seriously injured after bloody violence broke out Sunday night at a maximum security prison in South Carolina. It was the deadliest prison riot in the United States in 25 years. A coroner said all of the prisoners were stabbed, slashed or beaten. Six of the seven were African-American. No guards were hurt. In total, at least 20 prisoners have been killed by fellow prisoners in South Carolina since the start of…read more

Trump's Legal Worries Grow as Judge Rejects Effort for President to Review Docs Seized in FBI Raid In a potentially major setback for President Trump, a federal judge has rejected efforts from the president to be given first access to documents seized by the FBI last week during raids on the properties of Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, who is being investigated for possible bank and wire fraud. Monday’s court hearing pitted the president against his own Justice Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay urged the judge to reject the president’s request. McKay said, “Just…read more

The Holy Grail of Republican Tax Cuts? About Paul Ryan’s Parting Gift to the Rich The Holy Grail of Republican Tax Cuts? About Paul Ryan’s Parting Gift to the Rich 0.0/5 rating (0 votes) Full Storyread more

Cosby Jury Will Hear His Testimony About Giving Women Quaaludes Brendan McDermid/ReutersNORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA—Bill Cosby’s statements about using Quaaludes with women he wanted to have sex with can be used at his criminal trial, Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill ruled Tuesday morning.O’Neill allowed the statements to be used at Cosby’s first trial, which ended with him declaring a mistrial last June after the jury deadlocked. At pre-trial motions hearings last month O’Neill aid he would reserve ruling on the issue until this trial was underway and he heard what the testimony was.O’Neill made the decision after…read more

Can Republicans Keep the Money Flowing? “Donors poured money into GOP coffers in the first part of this year, but their loyalty may be tested in coming months by turmoil at the Republican National Committee after the resignations of two top fundraising officials and a criminal investigation involving a third,” Bloomberg reports. Full Storyread more

New Analyses Suggest Trump Admin Really Just Wants to Push Millions of Medicaid Recipients Off Care Andrea Germanos, staff writerRecent analyses bolster the case that attacks on Medicaid via work requirements—encouraged and permitted by the Trump administration—threaten the access to care and therefore health of millions of Americans. Full Storyread more

Ryan Zinke Falsely Claims He’s a Geologist CNN: “Since becoming leader of the 70,000-employee agency, Zinke has suggested that he was a geologist or former geologist at least 40 times in public settings, including many under oath before Congress. He uses it as a credential booster… He also uses it while discussing coal revenue, seismic activity, climate change, national monuments, precious metals, endangered species, fracking and drilling.” “Zinke, however, has never held a job as a geologist.” Full Storyread more

Being the Anti-Clinton Won’t Work In 2018 First Read: “One of the keys to President Trump’s victory in 2016 — and to his overall political survival — has been to claim, essentially: ‘Hey, I’m not Hillary Clinton.’ Indeed, voters who disliked BOTH Clinton and him ended up siding with the Republican in 2016.” “But that talking point doesn’t work for Trump anymore, even as Clinton remains highly unpopular, according to the latest NBC/WSJ poll… voters who dislike both Hillary and Trump make up 15 percent of voters, and they are more Democratic and prefer the…read more

MSNBC's Hugh Hewitt: "It is possible" that Sean Hannity "did not know he was a client of Michael Cohen" HUGH HEWITT (MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST): I want to point out that it is possible -- not likely, but possible -- that Sean did not know that he was a client of Michael Cohen. If Michael Cohen gives advice -- STEPHANIE RUHLE (HOST): If he didn't know that he was a client of Michael Cohen, why would Michael Cohen have him listed? HEWITT: Because if Michael Cohen -- and I don't know Michael Cohen. I do know Sean.…read more

Trump Claws Back Russian Sanctions Nikki Haley Announced Sunday One day after U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced new sanctions on Russia and Russian oligarchs, Donald Trump clawed them back, saying he hadn't given final approval, according to a Washington Post report. Preparations to punish Russia anew for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government over an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria caused consternation at the White House. Haley had said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that sanctions on Russian companies behind the equipment related to Assad’s alleged chemical weapons attack would be…read more

Immigration reporter Manuel Duran is the latest immigrant detained after revealing ICE abuses Dayanita Ramesh / Media Matters On April 13, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a petition calling for the release of journalist Manuel Duran from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, saying that his “arrest and detention were an effort to suppress his reporting.” Duran’s case follows the arrests of many other immigrants who have spoken out against ICE’s practices, spurring many observers to complain that the agency is retaliating to suppress criticism. Duran, an experienced journalist and owner…read more

The Daily Caller hired a Pizzagate and Seth Rich conspiracy theorist The Daily Caller has hired Stephanie Hamill, who pushed the Pizzagate child trafficking conspiracy theory and suggested that the Clintons murdered numerous political adversaries, including Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. Hamill recently began working for the conservative website as a host and video columnist. She was previously a producer and on-air personality for the pro-Trump One America News Network. The Daily Caller also employed Martina Markota, who had previously made a now-inaccessible video pushing Pizzagate conspiracy theories (Markota has since left the site, according to her Twitter biography).…read more

Here’s How Focus On The Family Convinced The IRS To Call It A Church Focus on the Family told the IRS in 2016 that it needed to be recognized as a church in order to avoid the Affordable Care Act’s mandate on insurance coverage for contraception and other regulations, according to documents that we have obtained from the IRS. We reported in February that Focus on the Family, the influential Religious Right organization founded by James Dobson, is now classified as a church by the IRS, meaning that it does not have to file publicly…read more

Kim Kardashian Shaded The People Who Got Mad At ~Those~ Vacation Pics Posted Amid Khloé's Relationship Drama And she also explained the real reason for deleting them. View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Tesla Is Temporarily Shutting Down Model 3 Production. Again. During the pause, workers can choose to use vacation days or stay home without pay. This is the second such temporary shutdown in three months for a vehicle that’s already significantly behind schedule. View Entire Post › Full Storyread more

Why Trump Can’t Get the Best People Josh Rogin: “More than a year into his administration, President Trump still won’t let go of primary-campaign grudges against foreign policy-minded Republicans who want to serve. And as qualified and patriotic Republicans watch how Trump treats those who do sign up, fewer and fewer are willing to come aboard. That dynamic hurts both Trump and our national security.” “There are plenty of good jobs available. National security adviser John Bolton opened several opportunities in just the past few days — by cleaning house at the top of the…read more

How the CIA's Secret Torture Program Sparked a Citizen-Led Public Reckoning in North Carolina Truthout will never hide stories like this behind a paywall or subscription fee. Help us continue publishing free and uncensored news by making a donation today! President Donald Trump's nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, is reported to have overseen a US site in Thailand where torture of a suspected terrorist took place. Later she allegedly helped destroy evidence of torture. Her nomination, pending congressional approval, is viewed by many as further evidence of this administration's support of torture and an undoing of Obama-era efforts…read more

How the CIA's Secret Torture Program Sparked a Citizen-Led Public Reckoning in North Carolina Truthout will never hide stories like this behind a paywall or subscription fee. Help us continue publishing free and uncensored news by making a donation today! President Donald Trump's nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, is reported to have overseen a US site in Thailand where torture of a suspected terrorist took place. Later she allegedly helped destroy evidence of torture. Her nomination, pending congressional approval, is viewed by many as further evidence of this administration's support of torture and an undoing of Obama-era efforts…read more

Sickened Coal Ash Cleanup Workers Seek Justice From Tennessee Valley Authority Contractor At the same time the Trump administration is seeking to roll back regulations designed to protect people and the environment from toxic coal ash, hundreds of workers who cleaned up the nation's largest-ever coal ash spill and claim it sickened them are still waiting for their day in court. A team of attorneys has filed lawsuits in federal court on behalf of 53 dead and sick workers against Jacobs Engineering, a Fortune 500 government contractor hired by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to clean up following the…read more

Sinclair and the midterms: Tennessee edition Sarah Wasko / Media Matters If you live in a midsize city or battleground state, you are now more likely than ever to see propaganda bolstering President Donald Trump and conservative spin on your local news -- just in time for the 2018 election season -- thanks to conservative media giant Sinclair Broadcast Group. Media Matters has identified communities that will see competitive congressional midterm races and that have Sinclair-owned or -operated news stations. Many Sinclair stations are already airing national news programming with a conservative slant, and they will…read more

READING COMEY: True belief about decent man! TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018Part 2—According to Comey, Comey was just being honest: Reading Comey may not be easy this week.If you literally want to read his book, you may have to do so on Kindle. Meanwhile, "reading Comey" in the more figurative sense—interpreting his personality, his character and his motivations in recent years—may perhaps never be a simple task.Comey—for years, he was known as Comey the God—strikes us as both human and odd, which isn't the same thing as evil. Despite the years of lionization, he doesn't strike…read more

Why We Can’t Get Enough Of Political Tell-Alls Images from Eirik Solheim, Michael Vadon, Gage Skidmore, FBIIn normal times, a memoir on leadership by a former Federal Bureau of Investigations director wouldn’t send jaws dropping to the floor and drive the news cycle for days. But, as even the most cursory glance at the headlines will reveal, we are not living in normal times in American politics. A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, the James B. Comey memoir that hits the shelves on April 17, has been hailed as one of the most anticipated…read more

Sean Hannity, Michael Cohen and Donald Trump: Three amigos, tangled in a web of stupidity Getty/Photo montage by Salon I think everyone knew the Michael Cohen hearing on Monday would make news. It was anticipated that Judge Kimba Wood would decide whether or not the president would be granted a restraining order against his own Department of Justice, preventing them from searching the documents and other items seized from his attorney's office and homes last week. And we knew that Stormy Daniels and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, would attend, so there was sure to be a ton…read more

These minimalist watches make a maximum statement Watches can make a lovely, individualized fashion statement. But not only can they be pricey, it's also challenging to find a watch that you can wear every day — where one watch is perfect for a dressy occasion, it's not entirely appropriate for a casual day out running errands, and vice versa. These Arvo Awristacrat Watches are sleek and stylish but still manage to be perfect for daily use. Featuring an upgraded stainless steel casing and backplate, these durable watches are perfect for any situation you might find yourself in.…read more

How you can become an elite Salesforce user Whether you work in a more traditional, structured business environment or a dynamic startup, there's a type of employee appreciated by any manager: the change agents. Regardless of the department, change agents are so valued because they move businesses forward in a positive manner, focusing on organizational effectiveness, improvement, and development. When it comes to Salesforce, the company behind the most well-known and dominantly used CRM system, those people are called trailblazers. The Salesforce Trailblazer Bundle not only helps you develop skills to customize this powerful customer management system…read more

Fox & Friends downplays Sean Hannity's relationship with Trump lawyer Michael Cohen STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): There was some wrangling for awhile, and finally they said, "OK, the third person is Sean Hannity." And apparently there was a gasp in the room, it's like, "Well, we know that name." AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): Sean defended himself last night and on Twitter. He said there was no payoff and he said, "I really only went to him for advice for real estate questions," because he doesn't invest in the stock market, he invests in real estate and he had…read more

Stephen Colbert: Sean Hannity Forgot To Mention Something! Stephen Colbert was absolutely gleeful about the news that Sean Hannity is Michael Cohen's third client. “I gotta agree with Sean on this one -- the media is spinning out of control. Did you hear about this guy on Fox News who’s defending Cohen without revealing that it’s his lawyer, too? That’s crazy!” he said. He said that he and Jon Stewart, "We're just gonna spoon." "This is crazy! Cohen only has two other clients, and all he does for them is pay off mistresses. Which raises…read more